(Editor's
Note: This article was originally written waaay back in the fall of last year.
Initially, it had been submitted to - and accepted by - one of the modeling
magazines that exist. Unfortunately, I was just recently informed that interest
in it had dissipated. …Bummer!!

This news (naturally) came as a BIG disappointment. However, their loss turns out to be your
gain, since you now have the opportunity to read the write-up and view
the corresponding pictures free of charge!

Hope you enjoy!)

(Intro)

Bandai has been making their presence felt here in America for quite some time now. The
Power Ranger craze took control of our kids, (and subsequently our wallets and
purses) around 13 years ago. All sorts of Power Ranger action figure and "Zord"
- (or Giant Robot) - toys started appearing on store's
shelves.

DigiMon
began taking hold of our children's imaginations around 4 or 5 years ago. Again,
our kids started requesting all sorts of toy figures and electronic games from
this series.

And
then, there is Gundam. The Cartoon Network started airing the Gundam Wing series
several years ago. Since then, the popularity of Gundam has been steadily
rising.

Something
else surprising happened as well. Toys R Us - (who has been notorious for
carrying very few model kits of any kind) - started stocking their shelves with
Gundam action figure (robot) model kits. What was going on
here?

What
was equally surprising - (to me, at least) - was the fact that The Cartoon
Network next started showing the "Gundam: Endless Waltz" short series, followed
by airing BOTH the original Gundam series ("Mobile Suit Gundam") and the more
gritty "War in the Pocket" and "08th MS Team" series' later. (KOOOL! Gundam
Anime and Gundam model kits in the US)!

I
imagine that sometime after the first Gundam cartoons started appearing here the
marketing gurus at Bandai came up with the very kool idea to take their show on
the road, literally. The Mobile Suit
Gundam Invasion Tour 2001 is what resulted.

(The
Gundam Invasion Tour of 2001)

The
Invasion Tour 2001 started on March 31, 2001 at St. Louis, Mo. It was scheduled
to appear at both Toys R US and Wal-Mart stores.

The
Gundam Tour worked it's way all over the US and Canada, hitting locations like
Los Angeles and San Francisco California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Dallas, Houston and
San Antonio Texas, Daytona and Orlando Florida, and Toronto Canada. The tour
headed over to the east coast for its finale', finishing up in Boston, New York,
New Jersey, and the Philadelphia area.

On
Sunday, September 16 (2001), the Gundam Invasion Tour dropped by the Toys R Us
located in Deptford, New Jersey. I (along with my two sons)
attended.

Actually,
it initially looked as though I was going to miss it. That Sunday morning found
me still beat from a rough week at work. I convinced my kind wife Clara to take
our two sons to the event instead of me, (so I could catch up on some much
needed R & R).

However,
once they arrived there my sons were soooo excited about what they found that
Clara decided to give me a call.My
eldest son described to me in detail all of the very kool things that were at
the show. A short hour later I was down there as well.

(The
Gundam Trailer & the Games)

The
very colorful 53 foot Gundam trailer was the tour's base of operations. It was
pretty impressive. One of the first things I noticed about it were the two Sony
Playstation and four Playstation 2 units set up on one side of the trailer. Both
kids and young adults were playing the "Gundam Battle Assault" and the "Gundam
Journey to Jaburo" games. There was also a small line that was formed of others
who were waiting to get their shot at the games.

(Inside
the Trailer & the Tour)

A gentleman named (Captain) Teeg and a young lady named (Captain) Amy were on hand
conducting the tour and running the show. They were not actually Bandai
employees, but worked for a promotion agency called ProMotion, Inc., that had
been hired by Bandai America to run the show.

Once a good-sized group had formed at end of the trailer Teeg
and Amy began the tour, taking us inside.

Once
inside I was literally BLOWN AWAY by what was there. There was a BIG,
WIDE-SCREEN TV at the entranceway, along with numerous smaller TV's situated all
around the room showing excerpts from different Gundams
Shows.

There
was a "life-sized" Gundam hand cupping the wide screen TV. (We were informed
that if a Gundam was standing outside, its foot would be as large as a
car).

There was a fragment of "Luna Titanium" or "Gundanium" on
display. ("Luna Titanium" or "Gundanium" is an expensive and rare, super strong
alloy that makes the Gundam's armor impervious to most weapons - in case you're
interested).

There
were very colorful pictures decorating the walls inside. Some were vibrant
images depicting scenes from different Gundam Shows. Others were interesting and
informative charts and graphs showing different facts from the Gundam
Universe.

There were several "life-size" uniforms from both Amuro Ray,
(the first Earth Federation Gundam Pilot), along with Sayla Mass, (the first
woman to pilot a Gundam). Both characters appeared in the original Mobile Suit
Gundam series.

The first Gundam show to air was the Mobile Suit Gundam. It originally appeared in
Japan over 20 years ago, in 1979.

The
first Gundam series to be shown by The Cartoon Network here in the US was the
Gundam Wing series. Following that was the Endless Waltz short
story.

Recently
the original Mobile Suit Gundam, War in the Pocket, the 08th MS Team
and the G-Gundam series' have all appeared on TCN.

If
interest remains high, Cartoon Network has plans to show additional Gundam
series'.

(The
Gundam Built-ups)

Despite all of the animation segments being shown, the very colorful and informative
pictures and the "authentic" Gundam artifacts, the real star of the show (in my
humble opinion) were the Gundam built up model kits. There were a whole lot of
them being displayed (in protective, acrylic cases). Included were a full range
of Gundams, beginning with regular kits, going up through High and Master Grades
and ending with three different types of Perfect Grade
Gundams.

There was a display that concentrated on the different
levels of complexity of the Gundam models. There were 5 different levels shown.
Level 1 was listed as being for the novice modeler, while level 5 was listed as
being for the advanced model builder. The High Grade kits run from level 3 to
level 5. The Master Grades begin after level 5. The numbers of parts, the points
of articulation (and the prices) increase with the higher kit
levels.

Built
up models from different Gundam series' were also displayed in separate cases.
There was a sampling of different Mobile Suits conducting their miniature wages
of war, against very colorful and attractive backdrops. The shows that were
represented were Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam 0080 "War in the Pocket," The
08th MS Team, Gundam
0083 Stardust Memory, Gundam Wing and Gundam Endless Waltz.